We all want the best charting platforms, but who provides the best free stock analysis software? If you are relatively new to trading the stock market, you are probably looking around for cheap or free analysis software before you drop big money into it.
You want or should want to experiment with technical analysis and plotting stock chart indicators to have a fighting chance at winning in this game. Anyone who’s ever bought stock off a random piece of advice is nodding their head right now, realizing there are better ways to trade…
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Best Free Stock Analysis Software
- ThinkorSwim has a great free paper trading platform.
- TradingView has all the tools you need to trade the market.
- StockCharts.com is a great teaching tool.
- Yahoo Finance has great fundamentals.
- Google Finance has up-to-date market news.
Who doesn’t want free stock analysis software? Free is always a great price, right? However, make sure your free stock analysis software is good.
Luckily for you, T.D. Ameritrade’s ThinkorSwim platform gives you all the powerful features you need for free! What’s the catch?
You need to open an account and fund it. Once you do that, you don’t need to trade or spend a dime. Open an account with at least 50 or 100 bucks! That’s it! It also works great for Mac computers.
Capabilities
With capabilities like backtesting, forecasting, screening, scanning the market live, news, and fundamentals, everything you need is in one spot. What more can a person want? ( A private island with an internet connection..maybe?)
Overall, ThinkorSwim is our favorite and most recommended platform. You’ll see ThinkorSwim in the live streams we do daily in our trade room.
Our trading alert setups are set up through our ThinkorSwim platform and watch lists.
COMPANY |  |  |  |
|---|---|---|---|
| DESCRIPTION | Trade Ideas provides powerful tools like real-time market scanning, AI-driven trade signals, customizable alerts, advanced charting capabilities, and time-saving data visualization | Barchart.com is the leading provider of real-time or delayed intraday stock and commodities charts and quotes. Track and analyze your investments and keep tabs on your portfolio | FinViz is an online stock screening, research, and visualization platform that offers various trading tools on a single platform. Solid scanner for traders or investors |
| HIGHLIGHTS | Trade smarter • Trade faster • Ease of use • Artificial intelligence • Real-time scanning • Customizable Trade Ideas > | Real-time quotes • Equities scanner • Ease of use • Track your investments • Analyze portfolio Barchart > | Stock screener • Powerful research tool • Heat map • Ease of use • Financial visualizations Finviz > |
ThinkorSwim Software Platform
ThinkorSwim stands head and shoulders above competitors because traders built their platform for traders. Because of this, ThinkorSwim undoubtedly has the most sophisticated platform for charting, tools, and trading.
We like to think they are the gold standard for trading software. Unlike a website-based trading platform, ThinkorSwim is a software package specifically designed for traders who need to get lightning-fast prices and metrics and execute orders as quickly as possible.
We love ThinkorSwim as a free stock analysis software at Bullish Bears trading service because it gives you access to over 400,000 economic data points from six continents. And if that wasn’t enough, it has some of the most advanced trading tools you can find.
Furthermore, the scanners for stocks, currencies, and options are also completely customizable.
To access trading software, you must sign up for an account through a brokerage firm. Of course, they hope you will eventually become a paying customer, but that doesn’t have to be the case.
What may surprise you is that you don’t need a brokerage account to sign up for ThinkorSwim; it’s a bonus as there’s no pressure. Furthermore, when you open a with T.D. Ameritrade, you’re automatically registered for the paper money account.
Registration is simple: input your email address, download it, and open the platform. And if you need help setting up your platform, we have a TOS Course and blog showing how to get set up.
ThinkorSwim Scanners
Considering the vast functionality of the platform, it’s no surprise the list of stock scanners is endless. There truly is something for everyone. Based on your search criteria, you can filter through thousands of stocks, options, futures, and Forex products.
Here are just a few of the scanners available:
- Pre-market gappers
- Low-float scan
- RSI 25/75 scan
- MACD or an RSI scan
Fees to Trade
One shining feature of this broker is that they don’t have tiered commission rates. You pay the same for those with a smaller account or don’t trade that much.
If it’s one trade or 100, it will cost you $9.95 per trade. Conversely, you can conduct trades at $.015 per share with a $5 minimum. For those of you who trade options, they are $.95 to $2.95 per contract.
Concerning mutual funds, your first three monthly trades are free; after that, it will cost you $15. Now I know some of you trade futures, which will cost $3.50 per contract.
Unfortunately, ThinkorSwim does have a minimum account requirement for access to live data, but it’s more affordable than most at only $500 for U.S. citizens.
For those of you from Canada, it will set you back USD 5,000 for access to live data. Click here to learn more about stock market trading.
ThinkorSwim Software Highlights
- A fully customizable trading platform
- Free, real-time streaming U.S. equity and option level I and II data
- Ability to trade multi-leg option strategies with up to four legs
- The ThinkoSwim app lets you keep an eye on your trades and positions
- Test with no risk using a paperMoney® account (also available on the app)
- Live CNBC news feeds to stay on top of the markets around the clock and the world.
- Free access to chat rooms with other pro-level traders
- Real-time streaming updates on analyst up/downgrades, block trades, trade imbalances, and events on the trading floor through the Trade Flash gauge
- Obtain company statistics in the fundamental data tab, including earnings, probability analysis, and ratios
- You can apply 400+ technical studies and 50+ patterns to nail your entry and exit points
- Replay recorded market data and trade it in real-time with think OnDemand
- View an option’s theoretical price, implied volatility, or probability of hitting the strike or expiring
- Use the Sizzle Index™ to see the current day’s option volume and compare it to the past five-day average
Software Tools
- In-platform webcasts, virtual accounts, and immersive courses.
- paperMoney®
- A virtual account to test your strategies risk-free. This means you can run through scenarios with up to $100,000 virtual dollars before putting them into practice for real.
- Learning Center.
- Daily live lessons give you a deep dive into ThinkorSwim. Demos and individual tutorials focus on each of the main platform sections.
- Wading Pool.
Best Trading Tools
Platform for Traders on Their A Game
With pro-grade tools and resources, the ThinkorSwim trading platform delivers a holistic, live-level II advantage when trading U.S. stocks and options.
The benefits don’t stop there, as ThinkorSwim has four trading platforms to fit various lifestyles. If you want to trade from your home office, you can.
What about a cyber cafe? What about on a hammock stretched between palm trees? With think Desktop, web-based trading, think anywhere and think mobile, your trading locals are endless.
As mentioned above, ThinkorSwim has different platform options to suit your trading style. First is Think Desktop with charts, quotes, and alerts -this is the one to install on your home office computer or laptop.
Second is their Web Platform. Luckily, it has the same powerful features as Think Desktop and is available from any computer with an internet connection.
Thirdly is the Think Anywhere platform for handheld devices, which allows you to trade anywhere you have a cell phone signal.
Finally, Think Mobile is the wireless platform for mini web browsers that lets you monitor quotes and orders, create buy/sell orders, or cancel any working order from your cell phone.
Testing Stock Analysis Software
The best place to make all your rookie trading mistakes – think mistyping ticker symbols (for the record, Coca-Cola is not CC) or misunderstanding order types (market order vs. limit order)- is where you’ll suffer the least financial damage. And that place is the simulator.
Regardless of the stock analysis software you use, I feel strongly that you must test your strategies.
You want a safe space to learn the inner workings of placing trades and experiencing the emotions of losing trades.
There’s a reason new drivers head to abandoned parking lots and not busy malls to drive for the first time.
Most simulators are free but require you to set up an account. The best simulators give you access to a fully functioning setup with active traders’ tools: watch lists, stock screens, research, and live or slightly delayed data feeds.
What’s the Best Stock Analysis Website?
- Motley Fool is a stock and investing advice service.
- Yahoo! Finance gives financial advice on the markets
- Zacks is an investment research service.
- FinViz is a fantastic free scanner service.
- YCharts is another investment research service.
Final Thoughts: Free Stock Analysis Software
One thing I know for sure is this: Trading stock markets is a tricky business. Rarely is there a single trader – beginner or otherwise – who is widely successful.
But your chances of success increase exponentially with the right software and training to back it up.
Unless you’re a trading prodigy, you must use a simulator to practice the art of trading while you learn the game. And most importantly, have the right community behind you to pick you up when you fall.
